If It Kills Me
by Glamagirl
Summary: One would have to be blind not to notice the attraction between them, the problem was that they never did something about it and now they were stuck in a platonic friendship. Would either one of them give that first step to cross that fine line that kept them apart or would they forever remain just friends?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Okay so I've been wanting to write a Ted/Maryse story for a while and even though the idea has been in my mind forever, it wasn't until now that I decided to sit down and write it. I don't know where I got this from but anyway, this is for Ainat and anyone else who has a liking for this pairing, enjoy!

**XxXxXxXx**

"No, just no. I won't do it, Maryse. You and your big mouth got into this mess without my help so now you'll have to manage on your own."

Feeling more than a little displeased by the answer she just got, former WWE Diva Maryse Ouellet blew out a breath in a way that would be considered by most as a little bit overdramatic and then she closed her eyes in a failed attempt to keep her calm.

Now, as she did that unsuccessful little exercise of self-control, the pretty blonde tried to shun the distracting cries that were serving as background noise out of her head and then she opened her clear hazel eyes once again.

"Nattie, please-" She said with her head tilted to the side so that she could keep a secure hold on the iPhone placed between her ear and her shoulder because the last thing she wanted was to for the smart phone to fall and break. No… that would mean losing communication with the only person in the world that could save her and she didn't want that to happen.

"No."

Groaning in frustration, the blonde stomped the brand new Loubotin shoes covering her feet to the floor and then she whined. "Nat, Nattie… you have to help me! I'm begging you here and you know I never beg." As she blurted that out, Maryse noticed that her thick accent was marked with something that closely resembled desperation so as she paced back and forth through the room she was currently in, she drew in a long breath and tried to focus.

It was hard though, the baby in her arms wouldn't stop crying and with him being so close to her face, she just couldn't think straight.

"Well did you try feeding him?" Her supposedly friend asked over the phone and Maryse blew out a breath.

"I fed him, I burped him, I even changed his diaper and he is still crying. Please come over because I just don't know what else to do with him!"

As a reply, Nattie let out a raspy snort; Maryse heard her loud and clear and she did everything in her power not to lose it and demand the current Diva to come over in that precise moment. Doing that would be awful because deep inside she knew that Nattie never responded well to her rotten moods and as a counter attack she would hang up on her.

"I won't go over there, I can't… I'm already on the road and I won't drive back just to help you play babysitter. Besides what could I do for you anyway? I have zero experience with babies so I wouldn't be of much help."

"But you have nieces and nephews… little ones." Maryse tried to plead her case in vain.

"Yes, and so do you."

"But I barely see them and when I do their moms are always nearby in case they get this moody. Nattie… please, please, please. I'll buy you the sexiest pair of Loubotins you'll ever own if you just come by to help me. Hell, I'll buy you two pairs."

"Hmm, as tempting as that sounds, I'll have to pass. Sorry, Puddle."

Clenching her jaw, Maryse groaned. "Don't do it for me then, do it for the baby because trust me, if something bad happens to him while on my watch I'm going to blame you. Are you willing to live with that in your conscience? If he falls or chokes or gets sick, it's going to be because you refused to come here and help me."

At what the self-proclaimed sexiest of sexy said, the first ever third generation Diva laughed hard and then Maryse heard another voice join the conversation.

"As if you would allow anything bad happening to Ted's baby; you are crushing on him too bad to make him upset."

Recognizing the voice as belonging to Nattie's longtime boyfriend Tyson, Maryse opened her mouth to answer but then, without uttering a word, she closed it back. As she did that, her eyes moved to the baby staring at her through a veil of tears and she tried to soothe him by rocking him. "And you would do that to me? Would you let me make Ted upset by not taking good care of his son?"

"Maybe you should have thought about this scenario before offering yourself to do it; and if Ted wouldn't be so busy crushing on you as well, he would have had more sense in him than leaving his baby with you."

Despite the baby in her arms crying louder and louder with each passing second, Maryse's lips curved into a full grin and she arched an eyebrow. "Do you really think he likes me?"

"Is that a legit question? One would have to be blind not to notice that the two of you have the hots for each other so get that ass moving and do something about it already."

Maryse hummed at Tyson's words and not even minding that Nattie apparently had her on speaker, she smiled while biting the bottom half of her lips. "Nah, we are just friends."

Yes, just friends. For a couple of years she and Ted have been nothing more than very good friends. Sure, she has always liked him in a very special way and her closest friends were very aware that she was physically attracted to him… well, maybe it was more than a physical attraction; after all she would always find herself hanging on every word that he said, she would stare at him in awe whenever he wasn't looking and as she found out, after months of not seeing the man, her reaction to him was the same.

But even though she felt like that and even though she had always noticed that Ted treated her as if the attraction was mutual, things between them have always remained platonic. After all, at the time their friendship started to blossom they had both been in committed relationships and Ted was too respectful to stray.

But now… now that she broke up with Mike and that he was a recently divorced man, things could change!

"Maryse, the baby. I can hear him crying his lungs out."

Forced back to reality, Maryse sighed. Yes, how could she forget; Ted was divorced but he had a son and apparently, the baby didn't like her much.

Going back to pacing as she rocked the desperate baby in her arms, Maryse cleared her throat. "Would you please come?"

"No, Maryse, I told you already."

"Ugh! You know what? Never mind, Nattie… and by the way, thanks for nothing."

With that said, Maryse grabbed her phone with one hand and pressing the end call button on the screen, she he hung up and threw the device to the bed.

It was all fine… if Nattie didn't want to help her then fine. She didn't need help anyway; after all how difficult could be calming a seven old months baby?

"Alright, Tate." She said through clenched teeth. "Let's talk, you and I; baby to woman."

Tate paid no attention to her and he just kept crying, just as he has been doing since waking up. The whole thing was more than a little frustrating to Maryse because she had really tried to soothe Tate, but as much as she has tried and tried, the baby just didn't respond well to her many attempts to humor him and she didn't know what else to do.

"Listen. I'm trying to do something here and you are not really helping me. I mean if your dad comes back here and sees you all upset, he is going to notice that I'm not good with this baby stuff and that's not good like at all."

Tate blinked a couple of times and pouted, his beautiful blue eyes filled with tears and Maryse couldn't help but to notice that those were Ted's eyes. She also noticed that the crying stopped and she smiled a genuine smile.

"Yes, that's it. No more crying. Ok… um, so yeah, good boy." She said, opening her eyes and shrugging because that was it for her, she had nothing more to say to the baby.

But as soon as she stopped talking, he sucked in a breath and started crying again.

"No, no, no." She said almost in a groan and in that moment, she couldn't help but to admit to herself that Nattie has been right.

She shouldn't have told Ted that she could take care of the baby until he came back from the arena… but, but at the same time she was aware that she wouldn't have known how not to offer a helping hand to him.

It was just that that night has been the first time in months that she was able to see Ted face to face and once she found out that he was in need, she just had to help.

Yeah, she volunteered; the offer came from her lips because staying with the baby didn't seem as a big deal back then. It was like this, she was conveniently in town, Ted didn't want to take the baby to the arena and she didn't want her ex-boyfriend to know that she was around so staying on his hotel room while Ted wrestled seemed like an ideal plan.

Besides, staying with the baby meant that she would get to see Ted once he was done working and that sounded perfect to Maryse. But what did she know? Back then the baby looked like a little angel sleeping in his playpen so she never thought that he could wake up being so cranky.

"Come on, Tate; remember what I told you. No more crying because that wouldn't help the let's get Maryse hook up with daddy's cause."

To Maryse's surprise, the baby smiled at what she just said and she gasped in shock, her jaw hanging and her eyes widening. "You like that, uh?" Making a pause to consider her own words, Maryse snorted and rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. After all your dad and I would make a very sexy couple."

As a response, the baby giggled and as if in cue, the door began to open. It was Ted, she knew at once so she hurried to clean the baby's face to erase all evidence that he has been upset.

"Hey, sorry I took so long; tried to come back as soon as possible but traffic was terrible. How's my little guy?"

Curving her lips into a welcoming smile while her eyes automatically went to Ted, Maryse watched as the man dropped his bags at the door to then approach her. Now, the sparkle in his eyes told her that he was happy to be back and her smile widened, too bad that his eyes were only for his son.

Not that she minded, in her mind it was beyond sexy that Ted loved his son so much and if possible, that made her like him a bit more.

She didn't even know how to explain it… but the fact was that she was having it bad for that man and she didn't know what to do about it. Maybe if he would have been any other man she would have tried seducing him a long time ago, but this was Ted and Ted was different… he was… special.

She has always loved a man that could make her laugh and Ted did that and more. He was nice, he was always been kind and respectful to her and well, it didn't hurt that he was beyond handsome.

He was just perfect, he even went to church regularly and even though she has always felt attracted to the opposite kind of man, there was something about Ted that always made her feel like a giddy teenage girl having a crush.

Yeah… in more than one occasion she had wished for him to grab her and kiss her senseless and leave behind the always respectful approach he would use whenever they were alone, but at the same time she loved the way he acted with her.

It was reassuring, in a world where most men would rather get in her pants before trying to get to know her, Ted has taken his time to be her friend and that was something she appreciated.

Now yeah, they flirted, but most of their flirting was started by her and even though he would give in to humor her, it was never in a disrespectful way.

It was frustrating, sure… but she loved it.

"Did he give you too much trouble?" He asked in his deep southern drawl once he was by her side and then he leaned close so that he could kiss the baby's cheek.

Maryse froze as he did that, unable to help but to inhale on his masculine scent while she wondered if he did that on purpose. Probably not, but he has gotten so close that he could have kissed her too.

"I know how he can get kind of cranky at times." With that said, he put some distance between them but he still kept her hypnotized by the way he was looking deep into her eyes.

"Oh no, not at all." She lied with a wave of her hand while she maintained his stare with her warm eyes. "I think he loved being taken care of by the sexiest of sexy. I mean he wouldn't stop giggling and smiling… and yeah… he definitely likes me."

Ted tilted his head and smiled a full smile, his eyes never leaving her and at that, Maryse felt like swooning. "Well that's good; you wouldn't want to see this baby all fussy and nasty."

"I would have been able to handle it; my sister says I have a special gift with babies because they do nothing other than smile and be happy when I hold them and stuff. It's like magic."

Ha, what a lie. The truth was that she has never been good with babies; older kids where somehow alright, but babies? Not her thing like at all. Sure she liked them and she thought they were cute and all that, but she always treated them from a distance.

It was just… well, the truth was that she was more terrified of them than what she would like to admit and babies seemed to sense that. Meaning, they liked her close as much as she wanted them nearby.

It was a miracle that she got Tate to be happy even if it was for a little while. But she wasn't going to say that to Ted, no way.

"Well this one seems to definitely like you, right lil' man?"

As a response to his dad's words, the baby boy looked up, tilted his face towards Maryse and then he made a grimace and without any warning whatsoever, he puked all over the former Diva.

Gasping at the sensation, Maryse blinked her eyes a couple of times and then she clasped her mouth shut. It was… disgusting, she has never been puked by anyone in her entire life and she was going everything in her power not to whine and complain about it.

Now she smelled like half-digested milk and worse, her dress was ruined!

"Jesus, Tate; where are your manners?" Ted said, his voice both sounding sympathetic and amused. "But wow, I'm sorry, Maryse…"

The French-Canadian nodded and forced out a smile, then she passed the baby to his father and cleared her throat. "It's okay… I'll just go and clean."

With that said, Maryse turned on her heels and then she walked straight towards the bathroom; opening the faucet once she was in. "Merd."

The vomit had run all the way from her shoulder to her chest and if she didn't stop it now, it would go all the way to her stomach. Just the thought of that made her shiver and without thinking it twice, she cussed once again and slid the upper half of the designer's dress to her waist so she would do some damage control.

Now luckily, her skin hadn't suffered much, the dress was the one that ended up ruined but with a little bit water, soap and some scrubbing, she could at least clean it and wear it again.

The problem? She would have to take the whole dress off to do such a thing and as much as she would love to get undressed in Ted's bedroom, she was not in the best scenario ever.

Groaning at the night's turn of events, the French-Canadian gathered a little bit of water with the palm of her hand and washed her chest with it, then she lifted her head up and through the mirror she took a look towards the room.

Her intention has been asking Ted for a shirt or something she could wear for a little while, but when she looked at him and caught him looking back at her, her words died on her throat and she just stared at him.

Of course, Ted looked away immediately and started rocking the half asleep baby he had in his arms, but Maryse has seen what she had to see and she couldn't help but to smile knowingly.

Now, those who knew the former Diva well enough were very much aware that she was far from being a prude, so if she has known that Ted has been looking at her, she would have put on a show.

Maybe that would have given him the courage to do something other than just look…

But that moment was gone; yeah, standing in his bathroom with nothing but a bra and the lower part of her dress to guard her definitely caught Ted's attention, but she was now sure that he was going to put on his well-rehearsed gentleman's act and the subject was never going to be touched.

Humming low in her throat and chewing on her lips, Maryse turned around and peeked out the door. "Ted, can I borrow a shirt of something?"

Ted, who Maryse noticed was still holding the baby, walked towards an open suitcase he had by the bed and without looking at her, he nodded. "Yeah, I'll get you something." From her place at the bathroom's door, Maryse watched through curious eyes as Ted moved around and when he was close enough to hand her the shirt, she smiled at the way he wouldn't even look at her. "Here, it's not much but I guess it works."

"Thanks."

"Yeah." With that said, he turned around and she retreated into the bathroom to take care of her dress.

What she did in there she did it quickly. She took the dress off, she put on Ted's oversize shirt and then she went ahead and started to wash the dress with a little bit of hand soap and water. Once she was done, she took off her shoes as well and grabbed the damp dress and walked out the door.

"Is he alright?" She asked just to say something when she saw that Ted was putting the baby in the playpen.

This time he did look up at her and smiled. "He's out; how is your dress?"

"The dress is fine, thanks for asking. It just has to dry up a bit and voila. Now I hope you don't mind if I wait here, or do you?"

"Not at all,"

"Good, it would have been awkward walking out of here in just this shirt and a wet dress in my hand. Do you imagine the things people would think?" Maryse asked while placing a hand on her hip and biting lightly on her lips.

As a reply Ted laughed, shaking his head and fixing his eyes on her. "I rather not; but seriously, I feel bad for what happened; last thing I wanted was ruining your plans for the whole night."

"What plans?" She asked arching an eyebrow because she honestly had no idea about what he was talking about. The only thing she had planned out was seeing Ted and she has done more than that.

"Well, you were going out, right?" He said, pointing at her dress.

"Oh…" She said, getting it; he assumed that because she was all dressed up she was going out. "Well I didn't exactly plan anything. And I don't want to run into Mike anyway so yeah, I don't really mind staying here a while longer." She went on with a shrug as she spread the small dress over the table.

Maybe she should blow-dry it in the bathroom… but that would mean less time with Ted and she wanted to hold onto his company a while longer.

"Besides, what better than getting a hot double date with two Dibiases?"

Ted laughed again, the raspy sound of it filling the air. "Well I'm sure Tate appreciates the company, I mean it's not every night he gets to puke all over a hot date."

"Then we both should be flattered, I mean as a rule I never allow boys to vomit me on our first date." After she said that, she walked to his bed and with all the confidence in the world, she sat on top of the mattress.

Ted watched her, his eyes never leaving her. "Then consider him to be a very flattered baby. Just never mind that he fell asleep, okay?"

"Eh, I'm kind of disappointed; I mean how can we call it a double date if it's only you and me?"

Quirking his lips, Ted walked to her and sat down by her side. Now his proximity made her mind start racing, but she said nothing. "Well if you want to, I can make it up by ordering something to eat; I mean if you are going to stay here for a while, the least I can do is feed you."

Maryse ran her tongue over her teeth and smiled. "I'm in, I've never turned down free food and I'm not about to start now."

After that, Ted ordered room service, turned on the TV and picked out a movie so they could watch. Soon after the food arrived and while eating, they engaged in easy conversation.

That was another thing Maryse loved about Ted, he was an easy guy to talk to and even though she has always liked him in more than a friendly manner, she has never had a problem talking with him about things she wouldn't talk with another men.

Take that night for example, when he asked about her break-up with Mike she started talking and talking about their demise and Ted listened to the very end and even offered his take on the whole thing. She did the same for him, listening him talk about his divorce and the problems that lead him to get out of the house while leaving a newborn baby behind.

That right there was a tough subject for him, she noticed and that that told her that if she ever planned on making a move on him, it shouldn't be that night.

Now, their failed relationships were not the only things they talked about, no… the night saw them sitting on the bed and catching up with each other until it was very late.

That's when Maryse regretfully decided it was time to put her dress back on and keep moving.

"It was good talking to you so please don't let another year pass by for us to catch up once again."

"I can say the same to you; don't be a stranger, you know my number and you know where to find me." As the words slid out of his lips, Ted's sparkling blue eyes lowered to her face and Maryse blew out a breath.

"So are you going to leave me in charge of keeping contact? That doesn't seem fair."

"Well you are the one with a busy social life. What if I call you one day and you are with a boyfriend or something?" He said in a playful tone as his eyes settled on her face.

"Then I'll put him on hold so that I can talk to you."

"Right." He snorted, pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue.

"You know I would so come on, tell me you will call me." She said in a bossy tone but running a hand down his chest soothingly so that he would know she wasn't entirely serious. "Tell me, Ted."

"Alright, I will call you." He said with a roll of his eyes and Maryse rose on her tiptoes to hug him.

"Just what I wanted to hear." Now it wasn't the first time the two of them ever hugged, they had done so before and in quite a few times. But that night, when he circled her waist with an arm to reciprocate the embrace, Maryse couldn't help but to feel an invasion of butterflies settle in her stomach and she just had to close her eyes and breathe into the moment.

It was silly, really, but it was what it was.

"Thanks for taking care of Tate, I really appreciate it."

The man's voice came out as a raspy whisper that almost made her shiver and Maryse rolled her eyes and melted into his arms. Was he aware of the things he made her feel? Nah she didn't think so, because if he did he would have ended the embrace a long time ago.

But he didn't, his arm was holding her secure against him and he didn't seem to have intentions of letting go soon. Not that she minded, of course.

"You don't have to thank me, I would do it anytime." Yeah, hopefully she wouldn't, but if she had to, she would do it just for him.

"You are too good," He said, moving his face to hers and kissing her cheek.

At the contact, the blonde closed her eyes and breathed in, but when Ted pulled away she chuckled in true Maryse fashion and rolled her eyes. "I know." And then she did the same move he did with her and she kissed his cheek, her lips lingering for more time that it really should.

"Just call me okay?" She whispered and before she could even think on pulling away, Ted dragged his mouth along her cheek and didn't stop until he was touching her lips with his in a slight of caress.

Now this new contact was brief and tender and before Maryse could really enjoy it for what it was, Ted broke the contact and chuckled. "I'm sorry… I don't know what I was thinking."

Blinking her eyes opened and fixing her gaze on him, Maryse smiled, her upper teeth grasping the bottom half of her lips as her hands settled on his stomach.

"Don't be sorry, I liked it."

With a smile taking over his face, Ted lifted a hand and scratched the back of his head. "Okay, um, I guess I'll be calling you soon."

"I'll be waiting so don't make me wait too long."

Nodding, Ted sucked the inside of his cheek into his mouth and then he did it again, he moved forward and kissed her. This time he pressed against her lips a bit harder and Maryse reciprocated by adding some pressure of her own.

It wasn't much, but it still made her insides turn into mush and when Ted ended the kiss with a tender peck, she knew that she wouldn't give up on him. That he just kissed her only meant that he liked her too and in her mind that was enough for them to try things out.

That it would take them some time if they moved at his pace? Probably, but all the good things took some time to build and she was willing on making this one be really good.

"So, I better get going now or I won't be leaving at all." She said in a soft breath and Ted cleared his throat before taking his arm away from her.

"Yeah, and I better get in."

"Okay then, then I'll talk to you soon."

"You will, trust me on this one."

Pursing her lips and turning on her heels, Maryse flipped at her hair and started walking down the corridor. As she did that, she could feel Ted's eyes on her and that made her smirk in satisfaction. Yes, she was going to hear from him sooner rather than later and she could barely wait for that to happen.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

First of all, I need to thank you all for the amazing reviews. Reading what you think always makes me feel motivated and they definitely make my day so thanks. Anyway, this is second chapter, one more to go and we finish! Hope you enjoy ;)

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"This dress is horrendous; I should have put on something else; anything would have looked better than this."

Turning around on her heels so that she could see through the mirror the way her brand new designer dress failed to hug her every curve, the hazel orbs that composed the eyes of Maryse Ouellet observed critically at her own figure.

"This is terrible."

Ugh, this couldn't be happening to her; not that night when she was finally going to see him again; and to think that she has wanted to look perfect for the occasion but instead of perfect she was looking… insipid. No, the dress was making her feel a step below ordinary and under her standards that was unacceptable.

What would he think of her?

"The dress is fine and you look fine, stop drowning in a glass of water, Frenchie."

"Nothing is fine here-" The French-Canadian said in dismay. "This dress makes me look as if I had no ass!"

"Then put on three more panties or better yet, don't walk in front of him and he won't notice."

Ignoring the words Nattie said to her in a tone that bordered in insolence, Maryse blew out a breath. How come that she didn't notice that little mishap when she tried the dress at the boutique and instead noticed at the club, when it was too late to go back to her hotel room and change?

"Do you want to know what I really think?" The other blonde asked, crossing her arms over her chest and arching an eyebrow.

"No, but I have a feeling that you will tell me anyway. Am I right or am I right?" Maryse replied absentmindedly, turning back around to corroborate that at least the dress looked good upfront.

"Instead of worrying about how your ass looks or how you can keep wooing Ted, you should be thinking about things on the long run. I know you, Maryse Ouelett, I know how your conceited mind works and I don't think you have realized the implications of Ted having a baby yet. Are you aware that if this progresses into something serious then you will always be second in his life? That maybe when you want to go out and party, he will have to stay home with his child?"

Rolling her eyes, Maryse let the weight of her body fall to her right foot and then she sighed. "Of course I've thought about that and I don't care." And she really didn't. She has liked Ted too much and for too long to back away from the chance of being with him just because he had a child.

True, in a small way thinking about it all kind of freaked her out because his son was still a baby; but at the same time she liked him too much to hesitate.

Besides she hasn't formed any kind of relationship with Ted yet. Between them there had only be those sweet kisses he gave to her the night she took care of his son and then a couple of calls where nothing of importance was really discussed.

That night was actually going to be the first time they were going to see each other face to face since the night they kissed not so long ago so and she wasn't going to ruin the encounter with doubts about their possible future.

"He's a good guy, so don't start something with him just to back away." Nattie said, suddenly letting it out.

Doing a double take and then snorting in disbelief, Maryse swirled around to face the third generation Diva. "So what has you worried here is that you think that I'll end up leaving him hanging? Nat, you wound me here."

"I'm not exactly worried, but yeah, that's what I think."

Blinking her warm hazel eyes slowly, the former Diva opened her mouth and placing one of her manicured hands against her chest, she snorted again. "So you would rather see me single for the rest of my life instead of trying things out? Ha, I can't believe you. Sure, because you have Tyson eternally by your side, why care about others finding their own happiness? And then you say I'm conceited."

Nattie groaned, taking a look at her own reflection and then shrugging. "Way to take things out of context and be overdramatic, Ryse, why am I not surprised? Anyway, let's get out of here, I'm sure Ted will be here soon and he'll want to see you and your lack of ass."

"That's not funny." Maryse said, taking a last look into the mirror and feeling happy that at least her hair and make-up looked flawless.

Outside the lady's restroom, the blast of the music was resonating loud and clear all around, each beat making her heart jump inside her ribcage. It was a nice feeling and she looked around, her eyes scanning the mass of bodies at the dance floor and smiling.

"This is too loud." Nattie screamed in her ear, but even though the sound of her voice came out muffled by the noise.

Nodding and flipping a strand of hair behind her ear, Maryse kept looking. She knew that clubbing wasn't Natalya's style and that if it wasn't because the crew decided to make a farewell party to Eve Torres, she wouldn't have come. But thanks to Eve, she and Tyson were there.

Now, even though she knew that her friend would have preferred a quieter scene, Maryse couldn't help but to feel a rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins and she was feeling an urge to hit the dance floor and drag Nat with her. For her, clubbing was a recurrent pleasure she loved to live and she particularly liked the vibe.

But, she didn't travel all the way to Texas to dance and as much as she liked Eve, she didn't exactly go there to be at her party either. Why would she? She no longer worked for the company the former Diva was parting ways with and besides, she lived relatively close to the woman and she could see her any other day if she really wanted to.

So no, if she went to Texas, it was only because she knew that Ted was going to be there.

With her eyes still scanning her surroundings, the platinum blonde saw a few of her former co-workers around. Some were dancing, some were at the bar and a good part of them were gathered at the second floor.

That's where she spotted Ted, with his back to the crowd, leaning against the security fence and talking animatedly to someone.

Feeling her heart flipping inside her chest, Maryse gasped a bit overdramatically and while grabbing Nattie's arm, she pointed up. On her part, the current Diva rolled her eyes and the two of them headed wordlessly towards the stairs.

Was she looking as good as she could? Gosh, she should have put on the black dress instead. But no, she got blindsided with the prospect of impressing Ted and in her haste to look her best, she ended up looking mediocre and with no ass.

Why did she even pick the dress she was wearing to meet with him?

Ah, but what was done was done and the last thing she was going to appear before Ted's eyes was insecure. With that in mind, she took in a deep breath, put on her best smile and started to walk with confidence.

"I'm going to go around and find Tyson, do your thing and don't let him walk behind you." Nat yelled and in a matter of nothing she was left alone as she walked towards the man of her dreams.

And boy, did he look like a dream come true or what? He was dressed casually, the charm obviously in the simplicity of his appearance; a pair of dark jeans, hair perfectly styled and a long sleeved v-neck sweater that stuck to his torso to display the muscles of broad chest.

He was definitely a sight to be seen and yeah, maybe she was being biased; but in her mind, Ted was obviously a man that didn't need much to look perfect, after all that smile on his face was enough to make any woman melt right on the spot.

So yeah, he was like a mirage, and when his face turned to her and that pair of stunning blue eyes found her amidst the crowd, she felt the world stand still for a moment.

Was she being silly? Of course, she was a grown woman, almost thirty and not a schoolgirl; but what could she say? When Ted Dibiase Jr. looked at you with that smile on his lips, you had no choice but to feel like swooning.

"Hey," She said cheerfully once she approached him. Up there the noise was still loud and that's why she kept the greeting simple, because he probably wouldn't hear it anyway in the distance.

If he replied, she wasn't sure of what he said but that didn't matter. Yeah, she saw that his lips moved but she didn't pay much attention to that; all she focused on was that when she was close enough he reached forward and wrapped an arm to her waist to bring her closer to him.

True, he did it gently and only to give her a hug, but uff, why did he have to smell so good?

Biting hard on her lips to keep them from breaking into a grin, Maryse reciprocated the embrace, getting lost in that unique scent that seemed to accompany him everywhere, the noise all around her a mere distraction.

"You came." She managed to hear him say in that sexy drawl of his and pulling away from the embrace, she kissed the corner of his mouth.

Was the movement bold? Not enough… what she has really wanted to do was kiss him full on the lips.

"Of course." She said smugly, her hand touching his waist for a second as she retreated from the embrace.

"Hey, and there's no love for me?"

Not wanting to look like an enamored idiot staring at Ted, Maryse turned around to face Cody, feeling very aware that the wrestler's hand lingered on her hip longer than it should to be considered a proper touch by some.

Not that she cared, of course; Ted could touch her anywhere he wanted and for how long he wanted and she wouldn't protest. Too bad that he hasn't realized that and probably for that reason, his hand slid away short after.

"Hi," She said, her lips curving into a grin just because she was there with Ted.

She remembered the way she felt the night he called her, all giddy and flustered by the sound of his voice. She thought she was being ridiculous then, but that was nothing compared to the way she was feeling in that moment.

"So you two, uh? It was about damn time." Cody said, lifting his beer towards them and then taking a sip. "But please, if you are going to get all kissy-lovely, tell me so that I can go somewhere else."

"Shut up, man." Ted said and once again, his hand was on her hip. It was a subtle touch, but coming from Ted was enough to make her hopes in them sky-rocket.

Grinning, Maryse arched an eyebrow, but then when she was going to reply to Cody's statement, out of the corner of her eye she saw this other man… a ghost from her past that seemed to have taken an interest on her.

"Shit," She mumbled, her eyes opening wide as she tilted her face to the side.

Did he see her there with Ted? Ha, of course he did, that was the reason why he has posted himself in that corner, to spy on her!

"Don't listen to this goof, are you drinking something?"

Feeling a little startled by the voice talking in her ear but covering her surprise quickly, Maryse smiled, turning her back to both Cody and Mike and facing Ted instead.

"No, I just got here." She replied as loud and as close as she could.

As his response, Ted leaned close to her and bending his back slightly, he went ahead to talk in her ear once again. "I'll get you something."

Forcing out a smile and nodding, Maryse saw as Ted made a motion with his head towards Cody and then he was walking to the bar. As he left, she felt her phone vibrating and when she went to check what was it, she saw that it was a message from Mike.

'_With Ted, really?'_

'Come on Mike, don't ruin this for me.' She though, ignoring the message and smiling as Cody told her something about the song playing. But soon enough, her ex-boyfriend sent her another text and she blew out a breath while looking down to her phone.

'_Is he the reason you dumped me?'_

Why, why was this happening now? Of all the times she could have ran into Mike, why did it have to be the night she was going to see Ted?

Of course, since her ex was a close friend to Eve as well, she should have seen this coming; but if truth be told, she had hoped that A) He wouldn't notice her presence or B) that he wouldn't care.

It has been stupid of her part because apparently he did both, he saw her and he cared.

Not that it surprised her, Mike never wanted to end things with her and even though they broke up a little over six months ago, he was still bummed about it.

Not that she should care; she didn't owe him any explanations. They weren't together anymore and he needed to get that into his skull. She has told him already, many times; she couldn't be with him because she plain and simply fell out of love with him and she didn't want to drag the relationship any further.

But still… deep inside she felt bad, she has cared about Mike a lot and she didn't want to hurt him anymore.

Maybe that was the reason why she replied to him. 'Relax, Ted is just a friend.'

As soon as she sent that text, she bit hard on her lips and wondered if that has been right. True, she wasn't lying, but she wasn't being entirely truthful either.

He replied in a matter of seconds.

'_Really? And do you kiss all your friends like that?'_

Ugh, stupid Mike; she thought with a roll of her eyes while turning off the phone. If he wanted to linger in the past then whatever, all she knew was that she was going to move forward and not back.

"Here you go, I didn't know what you like so I ordered their most sold out chick drink. It's reddish, it has a straw so I guess it passes."

Listening to Ted and feeling the way he got close so she could hear him, her face automatically lit up and she smiled a genuine smile. "Ohh, fancy." Sending a wink his way, she took the glass from his hand and took a sip.

It wasn't bad so she took another one. "Do you want some?" She offered, taking notice that he wasn't drinking anything.

To reply he got close again, his face near to her ear and his scent invading all her senses. "I'll pass, I don't want to get my man-card revoked."

Loving the way his voice sounded in her ear, Maryse wrinkled her nose and rose on her tip-toes to talk back to him. What did she want to tell him? Nothing of importance, she was just going to grab the opportunity of getting as close to him as she could. "And why would it be revoked?"

He didn't let her pull apart, he placed a hand to her lower back to keep her close and then replied. "That's a girly drink, I can't be seen slurping that."

Ah… but there were other ways to taste it, Maryse though and she wondered what he would do if she went ahead and kissed him. Would he pull away? Probably not, but somehow she didn't think that would be a right move to make in that moment.

The night was still young and full of possibilities so she needed to let things flow without haste, she needed to let him set the pace. With that in mind, she took a step back and smiled to him.

"So," He started to say, his eyes lowered down so he could look at her and his lips showing the shadow of a smile. "You look amazing."

Maryse, even though being used to hear that compliment, felt a blush creep up to her face so she snorted. How was it that Ted provoked such reactions out of her? She wasn't a naïve little girl, she was Maryse… the sexiest of sexy and she wasn't used to getting flustered by simple words. "Hmm, you look nice yourself."

Actually, more than nice he looked ridiculously hot.

Ted chuckled at her words, tearing his eyes away from her while taking a look around and it return, Maryse smiled as well, musing about why was it that the two of them were tiptoeing around each other.

It was obvious that there was an attraction there so why weren't they acting on it?

"Did you know that there's an ex-boyfriend at ten o'clock giving me the evil eye?"

Ted asked in her ear and Maryse winced. If she knew Ted the way she thought she knew him, the man wasn't even going to take her to dance while Mike was there so that only left her with one option.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?"

At the question, Ted looked down on her, his hypnotizing blue eyes staring deep into her own. What was he thinking? She didn't know and chewing lightly on her lips, she cleared her throat as she waited.

The answer came soon enough, as Ted ran a hand down his face. "Sure, I mean if you want to."

Ha, what a question; of course she wanted to. In the club they were not going to get anywhere and she would rather be somewhere more private.

"Alright, then let's go." With that said, Maryse grabbed his hand, put her unfinished drink over one of the tables and trying to ignore Mike's eyes on her, she lead Ted to the parking lot.

Where would they go? She didn't even know, but if there was something that she knew, it was that she didn't travel all the way to Texas so she could dance around the bushes with Ted.

Not that she was planning to jump on him like she wanted to, but something good had to come out of that night and hopefully, that something was going to be really, really good.

TBC


End file.
